What Remains at the Table

The wilted spinach lay untouched on Elena's plate, a small mountain of green that had been promising twenty minutes ago. Now it was just another thing she couldn't bring herself to finish.

Across from her, Marcus was talking about his promotion again, his hands moving in that way they always did when he was trying to convince himself of something. She'd learned to read his palms like maps—the tension lines, the way he cracked his knuckles before delivering bad news, the slight tremor that appeared only when he was lying.

"It's a great opportunity," he said, not looking at her. "San Francisco would be good for us. A fresh start."

Elena thought about the unpacked boxes in their closet, the ones that had been taped shut since before their trip to Montana last summer. She thought about how he'd disappeared during that hike near the lake, how she'd found him later standing at the edge of the tree line, staring at something she couldn't see. He'd claimed it was a bear, said it had been standing there watching them, but she'd seen no tracks, no disturbed undergrowth. Just Marcus, motionless in the fading light, looking like he was considering whether to walk back into the trees or return to her.

"You're not really asking me to come with you," she said quietly.

The restaurant went suddenly silent, or maybe that was just in her head. Then lightning split the sky outside, flash-illuminating Marcus's face—caught somewhere between relief and devastation that she'd finally said it aloud.

"I don't know what I'm asking," he whispered.

The spinach on her plate had given up completely, collapsed into itself. She thought about how her mother had always said spinach was good for you, full of iron and strength. Some things just couldn't be forced.

"I know," Elena said, placing her hand over his, feeling the pulse in his wrist, the way his fingers didn't pull away but didn't exactly welcome her either. "That's the problem."

Outside, thunder finally arrived, rolling across the city like the end of something they'd both been pretending wasn't already over.